I spent a lot of time looking at the globe and the internet while I was setting up arrangements for our European honeymoon three years ago.  The Montali Country House called to me.  It’s an all-vegetarian gourmet guest house in Umbria, Italy.  I emailed with Malu, who is one of the proprietors there.  Malu told me that their hotel is off the beaten path.  For sake of ease, renting a car would be much easier than a taxi.  Since I knew very little about traveling by train in Europe, I had no idea how close we would get and from where we’d need to rent a car.  We learned as we went along. 

We flew from LA to London and London to Paris.  Then we took a train from Paris to Interlaken to Zurich to Venice to Verona to Assisi.  Finally, we rented a car to drive up the hills of Umbria to the Country House Montali.  Automatic cars aren’t common there, and I didn’t know how to drive a stick shift.  David hadn’t driven one since high school or college.  Sadly, he was relearning it all going up hills and mountains, tiny dirt and gravel roads with no gates to keep a person from careening off the hillside.  After only recently visiting Juliet’s grave in Verona, I knew all too well what can happen to star crossed lovers.  “Crap,” I thought, “we’re on our honeymoon and so in love.  We’re doomed.” 

After some starting and stopping and rolling down the hill, we made it to the top to the intimate hotel that is Montali Country House.  Surrounded by a 25-acre olive grove and dotted with fig trees, the property has beautiful panoramic views and overlooks Lake Trasimeno below. 

We checked in with Malu, who was expecting us.  We told her that we were on our honeymoon and she said, “Oh, you are beginning the new life!”  There was poetry in that, the new life.  She showed us to our room, adorned with a painting the color of the sunset going down over the hillside. 

We walked the grounds, and sat by the pool enjoying a glass of wine until it was time to get ready for dinner.  People dress up for dinner every evening at 8 pm.  When we walked in to where all of the guests were gathering, we chatted about our travels, from where we were coming and what was next on our journey.  Alberto, Malu’s husband and the other proprietor of the hotel, came over and introduced himself to us, shaking our hands, and then showed us to our table, where we would be eating for the rest of our meals there. 

At the beginning of each course, Alberto walked to each of the tables and in a hushed tone told us about the next course, the dish and the preparation methods.  He sounded a little something like an announcer at a big golf competition.  It created such excitement about the upcoming dish that was about to be experienced.  He went table by table, and since he can speak five different languages, he seamlessly spoke to every table with ease.  The food was phenomenal and the presentation was superb.  The olives at the table were from their own acreage.  The figs that were used for dessert had just been picked that day from the grounds.  All of the dishes were a beauty to look at as much as to eat.  I was still there to enjoy it, and yet, I found myself already wishing we’d planned to stay there longer than two days. 

When I saw the Eggplant and Caramelized Onion “Lasagna” in Vegan Table, which is a dish Colleen learned to make during a trip of her own to the Montali Country House, I was eager to recreate that experience in my own home.  This dish involves layering slices of broiled eggplants with tomatoes, capers, olives, pine nuts, and basil.  The dish uses green and black olives, and it reminded me of the beautiful olive trees surrounding the guest house.  This salty and fresh dish plays up the flavor that is inherent in the vegetables.  It had me dreaming of my next trip up those gravel roads, but next time, I’m calling ahead for an automatic.  I’m still deliriously in love.  I can’t take any chances.

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When I saw the Tuscan White Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, which is a replication of a favorite dish of Colleen’s from a recent trip she took to Italy, I knew it would cure what ailed me.  The mixture of Northern beans, sautéed with garlic, onion, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach, and seasoned with sage and basil surprised me with both its simplicity and its complexity of flavors.  It may be my favorite dish I’ve made from Vegan Table so far, and that’s really saying something.  She also recommends trying this dish over polenta or pasta, and I will definitely want to try that in the future for a main dish. 

I served the beans with broccoli dressed with Sun-Dried Tomato and Walnut Pesto.  The sun-dried tomatoes give a depth of flavor that is a step above traditional pesto.  I tested this recipe last year, and it has become a regular in my home.  It’s fantastic to toss with steamed green beans, in addition to using as a sandwich spread with roasted vegetables or over pasta with artichoke hearts, olives, and chopped tomatoes.

Finally, I rounded out the plate with sautéed collard greens.  No complicated recipe here—just some greens sauteed with garlic, lemon juice, a small drop of balsamic vinegar, and topped with toasted pine nuts.  It’s not a traditional Italian dish, but collard greens are welcome on any plate, as far as I’m concerned.

After seconds (and thirds) of the white beans, I pored over our honeymoon photo books and travel journals with a contented belly.  I basked in memories of those days in the hillsides of Perugia maneuvering the dirt roads in a Fiat, and I relished the dreams of travels to come.  Sometimes the anticipation is almost as satisfying as the trip itself.

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